Integrating Mechanics and Transport in Assessing Respiratory Function

The lungs serve a primary function of exchanging gases between the body and the outside environment. Efficiency of this exchange process is strongly affected by the relative matching of ventilation and perfusion, a relationship which the body goes to great lengths to preserve. However, the efficiency of the lung deteriorates in the presence of lung disease and under conditions of environmental stress. The response of this gas exchange process to stress is largely dependent on the degree of heterogeneity in the lung and the perturbations caused by the pathological or environmental stress.